Foldable phones to have niche market through next 5 years

Companies including Samsung and Huawei may be rushing to push out their foldable phones. However, a perfect model to be adopted by the masses is still a distant dream, according to analysts. Research firm Gartner estimates that worldwide shipment of devices including PCs, tablets, and mobile phones, will reach 2.21 billion units in 2019, exhibiting a flat year-over-year growth. The mobile market is expected to return to growth in 2020.

However, foldable phones will hit 30 million units only by 2023, accounting for a meagre 5 per cent of the high-end phone market. Gartner analysts expect that foldable phones will re-inject innovation in the market, but they will remain a niche product through the next five years owing to several manufacturing challenges.

The current foldable phones, priced at USD 2,000, present a lot of trade-offs even for early adopters. To make them a success, manufacturers will need to place usability at the core of the product and ensure seamless user experience across all foldable screens. 

(With inputs from agencies.)